


Prospects

by BrambleFuzz



Series: A Long Overdue Shedding [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Introspection, Katakuri thinks too much, One Shot, Post-WCI, Protective Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Whole Cake Island Arc Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 13:41:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15686550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrambleFuzz/pseuds/BrambleFuzz
Summary: “I might end up having to kill you. That makes me an enemy, don’t you understand?”“But enemies are supposed to hate each other, right?” Straw Hat questioned, drawing his eyes back to Katakuri’s face. “Do you?”(Luffy is insistent that he and Katakuri are friends, and Katakuri is insistent that they are not. One of them is very much in denial, but perhaps for good reason.)





	Prospects

Katakuri could feel eyes on him from across the tavern. He should have been used to itーhis bounty was famously high, and his appearance alone drew attention, but this gaze was different. It was a gaze that he could not brush off, not fleeting nor passive. Someone powerful was looking at him, and a moment’s look into the future revealed exactly who it was.

He rose from his seat at the filthy bar and turned towards the door. The throngs of people packed together only served to hinder him and even though he stood taller than most of them, it frustrated him further when he was able to see his goal and not reach it. His senses pricked up once more and he began to push his way through the crowd.

Katakuri had not wanted to draw attention to himself on this island. It was far too small, and gossip travelled quickly. If the locals caught wind that the son of Big Mom had stopped by and created trouble, even briefly, word would spread to other islands in the vicinity and his mission may become jeopardised.

The door was within his reach now. Katakuri shoved one last man aside and pulled open the door, the cold night air rushing forward to greet him.

He stepped over the threshold of the tavern and immediately took a single stride to the right, perfectly in time to avoid a collision with a speeding missile of a human being. He had seen what was going to happen, but apparently had not acted soon enough to change it. He turned towards the slope that led down to the coast. Perhaps, if he started to run from nowー

“Katakuri!” The bullet of a man had sprung to his feet. “Oi!”

The man slingshotted himself over Katakuri’s head, flipped and then landed in front of him so that they were face-to-face. Katakuri glanced to one side quickly, but there were no civilians he could use as a distraction, nowhere to run nor any chaos he could create. He was stuck. It frustrated him that he had seen this coming and was unable to avoid itーnow there was nothing he could do but face the loud and somewhat grating music.

Straw Hat Luffy’s eyes were as irritatingly energetic as they had been the last time Katakuri had seen him. He was looking up with a deep scowl and a furrow in his brow.

“Did you get shorter?”

He had known that this was going to be Straw Hat’s first question, but he still found the order of priorities somewhat startling. Admittedly, it would have come as a surprise. The last time they had seen each other, Katakuri had been almost three times Straw Hat's size, and now he was only standing two heads taller than him.

“Not exactly,” Katakuri replied. “I’ve compacted myself into a smaller form. It’s easier to travel this way.”

Straw Hat raised his brows then, his scowl giving way to confusion. “How’s that work?”

“Mochi is very malleable. It’s only a matter of reshaping myself and altering density, but the form only holds for a while.” Katakuri explained, surprising himself with his own nonchalant manner. He was still keeping an eye out for an opening that would allow him to slip away, but even if he found one he knew that Straw Hat may be able to stop him from taking advantage of it.

“Hm,” Straw Hat nodded in understanding. “Think I could do it?”

Katakuri wondered, vaguely, if Straw Hat was aware of exactly what their positions were. They may have developed a mutual respect for one another over the course of their battle, but they were still enemies. Granted, their meeting on this grotty island had been nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence, but surely it would have made sense to simply brush past each other and move on. Even if Straw Hat had challenged him to a fight or demanded an explanation as to what he was doing there, Katakuri would have been more comfortable than he was right nowーnow, when the only man who had ever defeated him was standing there and with sheer, blinding honesty, asking for _advice_.

Katakuri allowed himself a quiet sigh before replying in a level tone. “I’m not sure. Mochi can change shape and retain the form for a long while, but still avoid deforming permanently. There’s too much tension in rubber. You might revert to your normal form too quickly.”

Straw Hat looked disappointed for a moment, but then grinned up at Katakuri and said, “Well, I’ll try it anyway!”

They looked at each other in silence for just the briefest moment, and Katakuri took it as a cue to leave. As he was about to take a step, however, Straw Hat suddenly scowled again as if remembering that he was facing an enemy and raised his fists in front of him.

“Anyway, what d’you want? You looking for a fight?” He said.

What Katakuri wanted was to leave and not have to interact with this overly-energetic boy any longer. His body seemed to be constantly tense and brimming with activity, like a cup that had been filled with water and was forever on the verge of overflowing.

Thinking back, Katakuri really had enjoyed their fight, more than he had enjoyed anything for as long as he could remember. It was the only time he had ever been challenged, the only time he had ever been defeated, and their powers were so similar that Katakuri was itching with curiosity at the idea of learning more. The rush of the fight left him buzzing quietly for days afterwards, so much so that the proliferation of gossip regarding the circumstances of his defeat did nothing to dampen his mood. Despite what that encounter had done for him, now was not the time to be seeing Straw Hat. Katakuri was not sure if he wanted to see him again at all..

“I’m not here to fight you, Straw Hat.” He explained, crossing his arms over his chest. “This is just a coincidence.”  
“I thought you could see the future.” Straw Hat shot back immediately. 

“I can,” Katakuri said, “but not so far in advance that I knew you'd be here.”

The boy dropped his stance abruptly and stood up straight. It seemed that everything had been smoothed over, almost too easily.

“Well,” Straw Hat smiled, “that’s good. I didn’t wanna fight you.”

Katakuri had been ready to walk past Straw Hat and leave at that moment, but the statement stopped him dead before he had even taken a step. He had been so distracted with trying to survive this conversation that he had not looked into the future for the past few minutes, which meant that he had not seen _this_ coming at all. He was embarrassed at having let it happen, but he also could not help the feeling of shock that overcame him. Katakuri had been _itching_ to fight Straw Hat again. Not now, certainly, and perhaps not for quite a while longer, but Katakuri knew that one day he would want a rematch; he would want to feel that surging thrill rushing through him again, but apparently the sentiment was not shared. Katakuri tried to quell his flood of disappointment.

“You don’t want to fight me?” He looked down, knowing that Straw Hat could not see him frowning behind the scarf that he wore.

Straw Hat shook his head. “I was really tired after the last time we fought. Sanji had to carry me back to the ship!” He laughed, as if almost losing his life was a fond memory. “Besides,” he continued, “you’re a nice guy.”

Katakuri blinked down at him, and Straw Hat looked back up with bright, candid eyes.

“You think I’m a nice guy.” Katakuri repeated, slowly.

“Yeah,” came the response, in a tone indicating that this was an obvious fact and Katakuri was simply an idiot for not realising. “You were just protecting your family back then, right? You were a bad guy, but you weren’t a _bad_ guy.”

Katakuri was truly dumbfounded now. Even if he had seen this coming, he would still not have known how to respond. He could have seen this weeks, months, even years ago and still not have come up with a decent reply by now. Here was the man who he had pummelled within an inch of his life, and who had done the same thing in return, saying that he was nice?

Katakuri had not wanted to see Straw Hat, and this reminded him exactly why. All he could do now, with his mind awhirl, was try to escape.

“I have things to do,” he lied smoothly, calm on the surface despite what he fett beneath and choosing to wilfully ignore the last comment that Straw Hat had made. “Farewell.”

He began to walk away.

“Zoro!”

Katakuri picked up his pace and just as he came to the bottom of the shallow slope that led to the docks, a rubber hand clamped around his wrist.

“Hey, Katakuri!” Straw Hat yelled, tugging him back towards him. “You should meet Zoro!”

Katakuri thought that he would be sailing through the air when Straw Hat pulled at his arm, but instantly realised that it only meant taking a dozen steps back. For some reason, those few metres had felt like miles when he was walking away.

And now he was back besides Straw Hat again, exactly where he did not want to be, and standing before him was the man he recognised as Roronoa Zoro.

“Straw Hat,” Katakuri said quickly. “I don’t plan onー”

“This is my friend, Katakuri.” Straw Hat said cheerfully to Roronoa. The rest of Katakuri’s words seemed to shrivel up and die on the tip of his tongue.

 _Friend?_ Katakuri was going to say that he had no intention of getting chummy with Straw Hat’s crewmates, let alone Straw Hat himself, but now his mouth hung open in surprise and he was glad that his scarf allowed him to maintain his dignity. He wanted to crush Straw Hat’s inane idea that they were anything other than rivals, and had been shot down without even uttering a word. He should have looked into the future again, as soon as he had taken that first step away. This was his punishment for letting his emotions get the better of him.

Roronoa gave Katakuri a brief, nonchalant once-over, as if his Captain introducing strange-looking ‘friends’ in strange locations at strange times of night was an ordinary affair.

“Good to meet you,” he said, giving Katakuri a nod before looking back at Straw Hat. “What are you doing here, Luffy?”  
“I was eating but then I saw Katakuri, so Iーwhat are _you_ doing here?”  
“Looking for that dusty old bookstore. I was there with Chopper just a minute ago.” 

Katakuri’s own train of thought was abruptly derailed. “The bookstore is a mile away,” he frowned.

At once, Straw Hat burst into a fit of laughter and Roronoa looked away sheepishly, grumbling something about directions. Apparently this was a common occurrence.

Katakuri stepped away once more, this time not bothering to say goodbye. He needed to go. The longer he spent around Straw Hat, and now with his crewmate, the more desperate Katakuri was to leave.

“Luffy! And that idiot over there!”

Katakuri recognised the voice of the Vinsmoke boy who had caused his familyーespecially his younger sisterーso much trouble, cursed internally and kept walking.

“Hey, who was that?”  
“Katakuri.”  
“ _Katakuri_?” 

A great swell of noise erupted behind him and Katakuri saw that he would be attacked quickly, a woman would smile at him and that he would, most annoyingly, be stood before Straw Hat once again. He continued walking, able now to see his ship, and felt the air to his right shift momentarily. Without looking he knew to raise his arm and only a split-second later, had blocked Vinsmoke’s kick.

He leapt back, yelling at Katakuri immediately. “What the hell are you doing here? If you’ve come to pick a fightー”  
“Woah woah, Sanji!” A voice that was already becoming much too familiar came from behind him and Katakuri closed his eyes in exasperation. Straw Hat ran to them and stood between his cook and Katakuri.

“It’s okay.” Straw Hat said. “He’s not here to fight.”  
“Bullshit!” 

Several others had arrived, now, clustering around Straw Hat and Vinsmoke. Wonderful, Katakuri thought. This was just what he needed to deal with along with Straw Hatーa whole rabid pack of them, half glaring at Katakuri venomously and the others glancing around in confusion.

Roronoa frowned as he looked between Vinsmoke, Straw Hat and then Katakuri. “I thought this guy was your friend, Luffy.”  
“I’m not,” Katakuri replied instantly.

“He is!” Straw Hat countered, nudging him in the ribs as if they were supposed to be covering up a shared secret. 

Roronoa turned back to Vinsmoke. “Then what the hell’s your problem, cook? And you say I don’t have manners.” He seemed to have accepted what his Captain had said about them being friends, despite Katakuri’s denial. Maybe that was not unusual for this crew, either.

The orange-haired woman who had been at Whole Cake Island stood behind her crewmates while clutching the fuzzy creature that Katakuri had also seen there. Both of them were shaking.

“Zoro, that’s Charlotte Katakuri,” the woman said, anxiously. “One of Big Mom’s commanders.”

Roronoa drew his swords in a flash, but Katakuri had already known that he would. He raised a haki-clad arm to deflect the blade as it swung down towards him.

“What the hell are you doing here? If you’ve come to pick a fightー” Roronoa was cut off by a hand on his shoulder. Straw Hat pulled him back and stood next to Katakuri, so they were side-by-side and their arms brushed together. A display of solidarity, Katakuri realised.

He should have left that tavern earlier.

“Luffyー” Roronoa began.

“ーGuys,” Straw Hat stressed his words. “It’s _fine_ , seriously. We’re pals, and he’s a cool guy!” Straw Hat held out his arms and gestured towards Katakuri proudly, as if presenting a freshly coated ship or a new dog. 

Katakuri did not know why Straw Hat kept insisting that they were ‘friends’. They were, at the very most, mutually-respectful enemies who at this particular moment in time had no intention of trying to destroy each other. Acquaintances, at a stretch, but friends? Certainly not. Perhaps, if Straw Hat would not listen to reason, his subordinates would.

“Let me make this clear,” Katakuri directed his words at the crew, who looked at him with suspicion, “Your captain and I aren’t friends. We met once, briefly, andー ”  
“ーand he could have killed you, Luffy!” The fuzzy creature cried out. Katakuri was getting tired of being interrupted, but pleased that someone else saw how absurd this was. 

Straw Hat laughed. He was _laughing_ at the idea that he had almost been killed. Katakuri’s tolerance for stupidity up until this point had been rather low but, over the course of the briefest encounter with Straw Hat, had risen to levels he never thought he could attain.

“So what?” Straw Hat said, reaching out and patting Katakuri’s back warmlyーhe resisted the urge to flinch. “Franky and Robin tried to kill me before, remember? Anyway,” Straw Hat added, “he was just doing what he had to, y’know? Helping his family, same as we do. Katakuri ain’t actually a bad person.”  
“Sure, you say that now,” the orange-haired woman scowled, “but you never know what could happen.”  
“Perhaps you’re right, Nami.” Nico Robin was the one who spoke this time. Katakuri recognised her almost instantly; he had been seeing her wanted poster for decades. She continued, “But you might recall that Luffy said the same thing about me when I first came aboard, and that’s turned out rather well, hasn’t it?” She looked at Katakuri and gave him a smile, one that was far more motherly than any that Mama had ever shown him. “It seems that developing an attachment to his potential murderers is becoming a bit of a recurring theme for our Captain.”

Straw Hat laughed at that, but Katakuri had gone deaf to it. An attachment, she saidーStraw Hat had developed an _attachment_. Katakuri was sure he did not want to know exactly what that implied. He could feel discomfort tingling beneath the surface of his skin for what felt like the millionth time that night. Truthfully, he had grown so painfully uneasy by this point that he had almost forgotten what his initial intention had beenーescaping. He had not wanted to see Straw Hat at all, let alone meet his crewmates and, even worse, be caught in the middle of their dramatics.

Katakuri should already have been on his way; he knew how uncharacteristic this was for him. If anyone else had even considered being so bold and overly familiar as these people had been, their necks would already be snapped. He had to wonder why he had not resorted to violence when it was the quickest way out. It would be effective, and it would make clear to Straw Hat exactly what their relationship was _not_. Yet, he chose not to fight. Perhaps it was because dealing with so many at once would be a challenge, and he knew it would draw too much attention. Perhaps it was for another reason entirely.

But even if he did not choose to fight them, he could easily have pried off Straw Hat’s grip earlier, trapped the crew momentarily while he fled, or simply ignored them altogetherーbut he didn’t. He could have walked away in the last few moments while they had been speaking, but he hadn't. He felt as though his feet had been glued to the ground, and such a loss of composure grated on his nerves more than anything. Yes, the fight with Straw Hat had allowed Katakuri to drop the facade of perfection that his siblings had exalted for so long, but he still had a reputation to maintain in the outside world and he was loathe to feel it slipping away.

“Straw Hat,” Katakuri said, one eye still on the people who seemed ready to leap to their Captain’s defense at any moment. “We’re enemies. Your crew”ーhe thought back to Nico Robinー” _most_ of your crew seem to recognise that. You should as well.”

Straw Hat frowned up at him again, as he had done earlier, and Katakuri thought that perhaps his words had finally gotten through to him.

“Your mom’s my enemy,” Straw Hat said. “You’re not.”  
“Mama’s enemies _are_ my enemies.” 

Straw Hat took a moment to absorb that, contemplated, and then shrugged. “Well, that’s too bad. I’ve already decided that I like you.”  
“You can’t justー”  
“ーHe does that,” Vinsmoke said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. “A lot. Get used to it.” 

Katakuri had no intention of getting ‘used to it’. He did not want to get used to anything that had to do with Straw Hat Luffy, his crew or their antics. This entire situation was ridiculous. The Straw Hat crew seemingly having given up on changing their Captain’s mind, judging by the way their air shifted from protective to nonchalant in a matter of moments, was ridiculous. Straw Hat himself was completely, utterly absurd. Perhaps he was a few ingredients short of a cake, but surely his crew should realise that there was something mad about this entire situation, or were they just as unhinged as their Captain?

Katakuri had not agreed with Straw Hat on anything until now, but he realised that he had not outright rejected him either. He had spent the time quiet as he reeled from shock, or made half-hearted attempts to leave with an explanation that even he knew was shaky. Katakuri’s future sight had only shown him scenarios that he had ended up unable to escape, and when trapped in said scenarios his mind was being pulled in too many different directions for him to use his future sight at all. He had been swept up into Straw Hat’s pace, the speeding current of it too fast for him to do anything but be pulled along. He clenched his fist.

“Straw Hatー”  
“ーcall me Luffy.”  
“... _Luffy,_ ” Katakuri grit out his name through a clenched jaw. “We may respect each other, but you and I are on opposite sides. We can’t be ‘friends.’”  
“Finally, someone’s making a little sense,” Roronoa murmured.

“I’ll be leaving.” Katakuri said, neutral as he possibly could be even though his skin down to his bones were itching in agitation. He nodded down at Straw Hat. “Good luck with your endeavours.” 

Straw Hat replied instantly; Katakuri had not expected a reply at all. “Why?”

Katakuri’s future sight rushed ahead, and he realised the mistake he had made. If he had looked just a minute sooner, he would have been able to prevent this. He said nothing.

“Why’d you say good luck?” Straw Hat continued his questioning, crossing his arms and looking up in challenge. “You keep saying we’re enemies, so don’t you want me to lose?”

Still, Katakuri did not answer.

“Well, I guess this one’s over,” came the voice of one of the crewmembersーCyborg Franky, Katakuri confirmed after glaring at him. What was _over_?

“We’re gonna go ahead, Luffy.”

Katakuri’s eyes widened abruptly as he saw the crewmembers beginning to walk away; his prior suspicions had been correct. It was not just the Captainーthe entire crew was insane.

“Wait!” He said. They turned to him, and he raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure this is wise?”  
“What?” The woman who Nico Robin had called ‘Nami’ asked.

“You’re leaving me, an enemyーdespite what he saysーalone with your Captain.” Katakuri replied levelly. “You might end up regretting it.”  
“Luffy can take care of himself.” Nico Robin smiled once again, but Katakuri could detect the dangerous edge behind it. “And he’s awfully stubborn when it comes to things like this.”  
“Anyway, he must like you a lot.” Roronoa added with a scowl. “Apparently he stopped eating when he saw you.”

The entire group murmured in surprise at that, and Katakuri felt his blood beginning to boil. He took a single step toward them, just as a reminder of the nature of the risk they were taking by being so careless. “And if you find him dead?”  
“Was that a threat?” Roronoa hissed, hackles raised at once. 

Straw Hat stepped between them, pressing a hand against Katakuri’s chest to stop him from going any further and then looking at his crewmates.

“Go,” he said. The others began to walk away almost immediately, but Roronoa stayed behind to glower at Katakuri.

“Zoro.”

He took a final, worried glance at his Captain, and then gave Katakuri a particularly nasty glare before turning away and following behind the rest of his group. Both remained quiet until the footsteps had faded away back up the slope, and then they were left alone with only the sound of crashing waves.

The hand on Katakuri’s chest was removed and he instinctively took a step back, knowing that he needed distance. Straw Hat looked at himーhe did not frown or scowl or smile, he only looked. It was strange to see him so expressionless, when up until now his emotions had seemed to change at a mile a minute. Katakuri did not like this, he decided. At least the prior Straw Hat, if annoying, had been a little more interesting. The man looking at him now was alien, unbecomingly neutral. Straw Hat’s bright, youthful face was not made to look so dull.

“You still didn't answer.” He said, more calmly than Katakuri had heard him speak all night. “Why’d you say good luck?”

He could lieーKatakuri knew that he could lie, say it was only an expression and nothing more, that Straw Hat was overthinking things and it was only a slip of the tongue. He could lie, and he could leave. Or not.

“I'm curious about you,” Katakuri replied at last. “I'd like to see how far you go.”  
“So why’d you keep saying we're enemies? Don't friends wanna see each other going far?” 

Straw Hat could be remarkably perceptive when he wanted to be.

“I suppose that’s right,” Katakuri conceded, begrudgingly. “But this is different. You and Mama are rivals; she wants you dead.”

Straw Hat’s mask of neutrality broke with a raised eyebrow, and Katakuri felt a flood of reliefーthis seemed much more like him. “I don't care what _she_ wantsーdo _you_ want me dead?”  
“No,” Katakuri replied quicklyーtoo quickly.

The boy smiled warmly. “Then there's no problem!”

“There _is_ ,” Katakuri insisted. “Whether or not you and I are ‘friends’, as you put it, eventually we'll end up on opposite sides of the battlefield.”  
“Think about that when it happens.” Straw Hat shrugged and looked away towards the sea, evidently growing tired of the conversation. To him, it may have sounded redundant, but to Katakuri it was a matter of utmost urgency. He needed to either ground this in something solid or let it go entirely. He still had to figure out what ‘this’ was.

“Straw Hー”  
“ーLuffy.”  
“Luffy.” Katakuri closed his eyes. “I might end up having to kill you. That makes me an enemy, don’t you understand?”  
“But enemies are supposed to hate each other, right?” Straw Hat questioned, drawing his eyes back to Katakuri’s face. “Do you?”

Katakuri clenched his jaw. This was the issue; this was what it all boiled down to In the end. Katakuri had spent this whole time trying to convince Straw HatーLuffy, he corrected himselfーthat this, whatever it was, was not a good idea. He had tried referring to himself over and over again as Luffy's enemy, but Luffy did not seem to care. Apparently, the only thing that would convince him of their enmity was that Katakuri hated him. The truth was quite the opposite.

Katakuri liked Straw Hat Luffy rather a lot more than he would care to admit. Over the course of their fight alone, Katakuri had seen what Luffy could do and, more impressively, what he would do in the future. And this was not because of his hakiーhe could not see so far that he could tell the boy would undergo tremendous featsーit was merely a gut feeling, something inherent and untrained, but Katakuri knew. Luffy had a spark to him that Katakuri had not seen in anyone in years, a spark that he himself had lost, a spark that even his mother did not seem to have any more. It felt as though she was pursuing the title of Pirate King simply for the sake of doing so, since she had already been trying for so long. This boy, however, this young man who had started off with a ragtag group of nobodies, wanted to become Pirate King because he had a genuine, urgent need to. It was not a means to an end, it was not him trodding the same beaten track as he had for decades prior, it was because he _had_ toーthere were no ifs or buts about it, and Katakuri liked that about Luffy. He liked the boundless, uncontainable passion that Luffy had. Katakuri liked a lot of things about Luffy.

He liked that he was able to smile so easily. He liked that he didn’t seem to give a damn where his crew came from, who they were, what they looked like and, rather amusingly, whether or not they had tried to kill him in the past. The young man had not cared what Katakuri looked like, either; he had not so much as blinked when he saw something that even Katakuri’s own family had been horrified by. Everything about Luffy was refreshing and different and for Katakuri, who had felt himself stagnating over the years, Luffy was like torrential rain in the middle of a heatwaveーunexpected and desperately needed. Luffy somehow managed to make everything around him come to life with energy and excitement. Katakuri had missed seeing things in that way.

“I don’t hate you,” Katakuri admitted, meeting Luffy’s eyes. Luffy grinned at him and for a moment, Katakuri was glad for finally having crawled out of his denial, but the thought of consequences began to set in just as fast. This was the issueーthe problem here was just how much and how quickly Luffy had grown on Katakuri. He dreaded to think what would happen if his family caught wind of this, if they realised that their strongest brother was wavering in his allegiances. Katakuri did not even want to consider what Mama would do if she found out. He had slipped up once before alreadyーBrulée had noticed straight away, gently chastising him for his obvious joy at knowing that Luffy had managed to escape. Katakuri had avoided his family for several days afterwards, because he knew he would not convincingly be able to partake in their anger at having experienced defeat. He was simply too pleasedーStraw Hat had impressed him and if he had not managed to escape, Katakuri’s praise would have been worth nothing.

And it was dangerous. How could he go forward with his mother, with his family and crew, knowing that they had separate agendas? The rest of them wanted to make Mama the Pirate King; Katakuri was no longer sure that he had the conviction to do so effectively, not after having gotten to know Luffy over the course of that brief but somehow remarkably intimate battle.

It was all of this that had led to Katakuri’s desperate urge to leave, and he had sabotaged himself over and over again, an ambiguity behind every single one of his actions. Even when he had seemingly threatened Luffy and his crew, he had no intention of acting upon it. He only wanted to know how the crew would react, if they were worth everything Luffy seemed to think they were, if they valued Luffy as much as Katakuri thought he should have been. So many moments had passed during this encounter when he could haveー _should_ have said something that allowed him to depart immediately, but he had bitten his tongue. The reality was that, despite how much of a headache it had been, Katakuri had almost found this entire fiasco rather fun, and that was his dilemma. He should not have allowed this to happen. The longer he managed to avoid Luffy, the longer Katakuri was able to remain in denial about exactly how much he wanted to root for this boy, the longer he would be able to maintain the facade in front of his family. For them to run into each other on this island in the middle of nowhere, by pure _chance_ so that he did not even have the time to put up his walls and shrug off Luffy’s buoyant enthusiasm, was risky. He had _known_ it was risky, but only half-heartedly tried to escape it.

“I don’t hate you either,” Luffy grinned triumphantly. “So we’re not enemies!”

Katakuri reasoned with himself, taking in Luffy’s ever-present smile, that it did not matter anymore, whether they were enemies or friends or acquaintancesーit was already too late for Katakuri to go back on what he had just said, the admission he had just made. He realised that it would not matter what he chose to say to Luffy from now on, either; the damage had been done. Katakuri had broken the barrier and hit freefallーhe may as well enjoy the breeze on the way down.

“By your definition, I guess not.” Katakuri wondered if Luffy could tell that he was smiling behind his scarf. “But I’ll only accept this if you recognise that there might come a day where that changes.”  
“One of my friends is a Marine. I get it.” Luffy said quickly, wanting to be done with this back and forth that had been going on for too long. “We’re friends for now, I don’t care what happens later.”

Katakuri had admitted to himself, finally, that they were not enemiesーinternally, he knew he had not wanted them to be enemies at allーand it was something of a relief, but still an odd sensation. The weight of his words sat heavy in his stomach and tight in his chest.

“Keep in mind,” Katakuri said, “that even if we're… _friends_ now, we're still on opposite sides. Certain boundaries when it comes to business can't be crossed.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Luffy waved a dismissive hand. “Man, you think too much.”  
“You don't think enough.”

That made Luffy laugh, and Katakuri felt the stiffness in his shoulders ease just a little. He turned away for a moment, looked at the silhouette of his ship down the coastline which suddenly felt too nearby.

“Oh yeah, you were gonna leave.” Luffy said, following Katakuri’s gaze. “Can I see your ship?”  
“If you want,” Katakuri replied. “But it’s just an ordinaryー.”

Apparently, Luffy didn’t careーhe had already set off down the beach. Katakuri followed, staying just a step or two behind. They walked in silence for some time, but Luffy had evidently grown bored of the quiet and slowed his pace just a little so they would be side-by-side. He asked Katakuri what his favourite food was, how tall he really was, whether he actually _liked_ mochi or if he was simply stuck with it. The questions were rapid and inane, and Katakuri’s answers were terse. The transition from enemies-in-denial to circumstantial friendsーthe word ‘friends’ still sounded strange in his headーhad been so abrupt, part of him was still in shock. It was like whiplash.

Luffy noticed Katakuri’s brevity, but did not comment. He only turned the questions back on himself and began to ramble; it seemed that Katakuri responding with the occasional affirmation was good enough. Luffy told Katakuri about his crewmates, the ones he had met just now as well as the ones he hadn't, and Katakuri learned everything from their names to their bedtimes, the details of their meals and their roles when there was an emergency and where each of them preferred to be on the ship. He could not have cared less. The information was dull but Luffy spoke so animatedly that he simply could not ignore him. Luffy somehow made it sound like the most fascinating thing in the world, and Katakuri found that thought surprising in itself. 

What surprised Katakuri most, however, was when he began to engage Luffy properly without even meaning to. A one word reply had turned into two words, which had turned into a question and then a sarcastic comment, and Luffy seemed exceedingly pleased. Whatever discomfort Katakuri had been feeling earlier was gone, and neither of them were quite sure how it happened or what had changed, but they also did not have time to spare a thought for it. Once it began, conversation flowed naturally between them, and it reminded Katakuri of how he spoke with the siblings he was closest to when they were younger; Daifuku, Oven, Brulée, talking excitedly about anything and everything, making jokes and suppressing giggles. It was almost too easy.

“Brook and Usopp were on guard duty so you didn’t see ‘em, but you met Brook already, right?”

Katakuri thought back to the chaos that had been the Straw Hats on Whole Cake Island, recalling the skeleton who had smashed the portrait of Mother Carmel and caused far, far too much noise as a result. “Yes, briefly.” He said. “He’s the one who caused my mother’s nervous breakdown.”  
“Yep, that’s him.” Luffy responded so nonchalantly to what anyone else would have found painfully awkward that Katakuri could not help itーhe laughed. It was short and quiet, muffled behind his scarf, but enough that Luffy snapped his head up in surprise and then beamed more brightly than Katakuri had thought was humanly possible.

“Usopp’d be scared of you,” Luffy snickered. “He’s kinda chicken, even though his bounty’s so high.”  
“I’ve seen his wanted poster.” Katakuri said. “The one with the nose.”

Luffy burst into a fit of cackles at that, so raucous that Katakuri almost jumped, and it dawned on him that he had not looked into the future for a long while now. He had barely even noticed, distracted as he was, but found that he didn’t mind. This conversation would not have been nearly as amusing if he had predicted every single moment of it. Perhaps some things were better left unseen.

They came to the ship at last. It was a simple, practical caravel made from dark wood, just big enough to hold twenty to thirty people, although at his full size it meant that it fit Katakuri and a handful of others. Katakuri had never cared for the obnoxiously gaudy ships that the rest of his family seemed to favour, and this had done well for a journey where he had wanted to remain inconspicuous.

Luffy took a cursory glance at the ship and then looked immediately back up at Katakuri. “It’s boring.”  
“I warned you.” Katakuri reminded him.

”You got a crew?”  
“They’ve taken rooms in town. I prefer having the ship to myself at night.” 

Luffy stared at him then, frowning, but said nothing. Katakuri only looked back as the frown deepened to almost comical proportions; Luffy’s brows furrowed until they seemed to merge and lines of tension began to form on his face. He was so deeply rooted in concentration that he looked as though he might explode.

“Ah!” He yelled as the thought finally came to him, and then pointed a finger accusingly at Katakuri. “You said you were leaving, so why’s your crew not here!”  
“I lied.” Katakuri replied simply. 

Luffy’s mouth fell open in silent shock for a split second, and then he was laughing rambunctiously once again. He seemed to do that an awful lot, Katakuri noted, but he didn’t particularly mind. There was very little laughter in his life, otherwise.

Luffy stood up straight and breathed deeply, coming down from his high. “Ah, man, you’re funnier than I thought.”

Katakuri was certain that no one had ever called him funny. He had been complimented in dozens of other ways, but funny? He was almost not quite sure how to respondーdid he say thank you, deny it, try to be funny again even though he wasn't quite sure how?ーbut Luffy saved him by changing the topic swiftly.

“By the way, what’re you doing here in the first place?”  
“I can’t tell you that,” Katakuri said. “It’s Mama’s business.”  
“C’mon!” Luffy grinned mischievously as he nudged Katakuri’s side. “We’re friends now!” 

Katakuri scoffed and nudged away Luffy's prodding elbow in return. “Friends with _boundaries_.”  
“You don’t have to gimme the details!” Luffy whined, tugging at Katakuri’s arm as if he were a child. “ _Please_?” 

Luffy looked up at him with sad, wide eyes, and Katakuri sighed; he knew this look, his younger siblings had used it on him a thousand times when they were still children. It was an annoyingly overused trick, but especially annoying to Katakuri because it had always worked on him and apparently still did even after all these years.

“Reconnaissance,” was all Katakuri said, trying very hard to keep the smile out of his voice. 

Luffy blinked at Katakuri owlishly and asked, “What's a renaissance?”  
“Reconnaissance,” Katakuri corrected him before going on to explain. “It means that I was looking for… things.”  
“What kinda things?”  
“I definitely can’t tell you that.” 

Luffy sighed in overly-dramatic disappointment, shaking his head and crossing his arms. He could only maintain the act for a second, however, because then Luffy smiled up at him warmly, and Katakuri was almost affronted by the kindness it seemed to contain. 

It was odd, Katakuri thought, how comfortable this had come to feel in such a short span of time. Barely half an hour ago, every inch of Katakuri’s body had been screaming at him to escape while he had the chance, and now he could not fathom why. He had thought that allowing himself to interact with Luffy would be dangerous and in a way, he had been right. Luffy had blown in and swept Katakuri up like a maelstrom, unpredictable and chaotic. He had thought that he would feel guilty or conflicted about what this would mean and for a while, he had, but this tiny moment outweighed everything else. The only guilt Katakuri felt now was at having tried to leave at all, such a foolish thing to attempt when he had known exactly what he really wanted. And he knew, of course, that he would have to work painfully hard to keep up his mask now, to act just as disgusted as his family if Luffy was brought up, but that was of little consequence. Having Luffy look at him like he was a personーnot an image of untarnished perfection, nor a laughable monstrosityーwas worth whatever trouble may come. He did not care anymore about any consequences, because this nonsensical encounter had been worth it. And like Luffy said, he could think about that when it happened.

Abruptly, Luffy’s stomach let out a loud rumble. He sighed mournfully and rubbed his belly.

“You stopped eating when you saw me, didn't you?” Katakuri recalled with a concerned frown.

“Yeah.” Luffy slouched, his entire body beginning to sag exaggeratedly from hunger. “But I don’t like mochi, so you don’t have to worry about me eating you.”  
“Do you _usually_ eat people?”

Katakuri was slightly horrified that Luffy had to think before he replied, but thankfully did so in the negative.

“Go,” Katakuri said as he gestured back up the slope. “Find your crew. Eat.”  
“You should come too!” 

Katakuri shook his head, despite how badly he did not want to. “It's late, and this form is exhausting.”  
“Well, alright.” Luffy shrugged. “We can hang out tomorrow.” 

Katakuri shook his head once again. “We're leaving at sunrise. You probably won't see me.”  
“Oh.” Luffy almost seemed disappointed, or perhaps that was just what Katakuri wanted to see.

He could have taken Luffy up on his offer, but Katakuri knew that the longer he spent with Luffy, the less he would want to leave. He needed time, alone, to process everything, to get his thoughts and feelings in order before he could fully allow himself to enjoy being in Luffy's companyーalthough when that opportunity would arise again, he was not sure.

“Perhaps…” Katakuri hesitated, just for a moment, and cleared his throat. “Perhaps, next time. Tea.”  
“I prefer meat.” Luffy pointed out.

“That's not exactly a traditional part of afternoon tea.” Katakuri could feel the corners of his mouth turning up in amusement. “But something can be arranged.”  
“Alright!” Luffy cheered brightly, and then added, “Ah, and donuts!” 

Katakuri's eyes widened for a split-second; he hadn't thought that Luffy had actually been paying attention to his answers during their prior babble, but he had been surprised by him yet again. Ironically enough, that was slowly becoming the norm.

Katakuri nodded, and trusted that Luffy could tell he was smiling.

“I hope next time I see you, we won't have to be trying to kill each other,” Katakuri said.

Luffy laughed. “Even if we are, I'll go easy on you.”  
“Getting cocky?”  
“I did beat you, y’know.” Luffy crossed his arms and his grin took on a wickedly defiant edge. 

“That's debatable.” Katakuri smirked back, beginning to feel that little buzz tingling in his fingertips again. “But, we’ll have to find out the answer to this another time.” Katakuri said, and then held out a gloved hand. “Goodbye, Luffy.”

Luffy didn't take it, only looked up at Katakuri and smiled. “Sorry, I don't do goodbyes.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well, why would I say goodbye when I wanna see you again?” He said, cocking his head to one side as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. 

He had a point, Katakuri acknowledged, but it was still oddly delightful to hear Luffy saying that out loud.

“Until next time, then, Luffy.”  
“Yeah!” Luffy took Katakuri's wrist, twisted his hand so that it was upright, and then high-fived it spectacularly hard. “See ya, Katakuri!” 

A final grin later, he was running down the beach and kicking up clouds of sand behind him. Katakuri watched until the silhouette faded into the surrounding darkness, and then turned to his ship. His hand was still stinging from the high-five, though not unpleasantly.

There was a lot to register, Katakuri thought as he stretched an arm to the railing of the ship and pulled himself onto the deck almost mechanically. He headed below deck while his mind ran completely on autopilot, the movements coming more from muscle memory and habit than any conscious thought. There was so much noise in his head, a thousand thoughts pushing and shoving against each other as they fought to gain his full attention.

Katakuri lit a candle and the yellow light flickered weakly, sending shadows dancing back and forth around the cabin. He let himself go, then, allowing his body to expand to its full size and feeling his bones crack and his muscles screaming. It was like finally taking in a deep breath of air. He sighed in relief, sat on a wooden chair as he watched the candle-flame tremble, and then closed his eyes.

Something was telling him that this was absurd, something else told him it was wonderful, another said idiotic and another still clamoured that it was hilarious. Despite that, Katakuri knew it was all of those things and more. He still was not entirely sure what ‘it’ was, still had not figured out exactly what he had been pursuing or trying to disprove, but he also no longer cared. Whatever this was, this little camaraderie that he had developed with Luffyーif it could even be called such a thingーhe liked it. He liked the feeling it gave him. He looked back at his behaviour and wondered why he had been so obstinate all along. His resistance had ended up being time-consuming and, ultimately, futile.

Perhaps it was insecurity, perhaps Katakuri had _hoped_ that Luffy would change his mind, admit they were enemies and go his own way, just so that Katakuri could convince himself that he was not worth Luffy’s time. If that had been the case, it would have been easier. It would have stung, and he would have been disappointed, but it would have made things so much easier. He had to know exactly how deep this ran, if this was worth getting himself into or if it was something that would end up coming back to haunt him. He had to know if Luffy was being genuine, or if this was just part and parcel of his character and if he would forget Katakuri two days from now, so all of this would have been pointless. He needed to know, and that was why he had pushed so strongly.

Luffy had given him his answerーhe was even more stubborn than Katakuri had anticipated, more than Katakuri himself. He came to realise over the course of their meeting that, if Luffy had not been genuine about this, he would never have pursued it in the first place. The boy was so blunt, so straightforward, that if he had disliked Katakuri he would have made it perfectly clear, and he hadn’t. He had done quite the contrary.

It would have been easier to ignore each other, to not have to deal with whatever millions of questions Katakuri was now having to ask himself. It would have been so much easier.

But then, things had been easy for a long time. Katakuri found ‘easy’, at this point, utterly loathsome, and everything about Luffy was wonderfully difficult. There were so many things that Katakuri would have to consider nowーevery movement, word, breath that he took, he would have to be on constant guard lest he reveal something, and it would be stressful and infuriating and so, so arduous, and he loved it. Katakuri had wanted a challenge, and in Luffy he had found one. He had not expected just how far the challenge would goーcertainly, he had not expected that it would go beyond anything more than their battle, at firstーbut now he was being challenged in a million other ways, in ways that he had forgotten he _could_ be challenged. It was thrilling and terrifying and he wondered if he would tire of it and come to regret it, but it was spectacular all the same. He reminded himself, once again, of what Luffy had saidーthink about it when it happens.

Katakuri had never even considered that to be an option. He had always seen everything coming, he knew what was going to happen and he always did, but for this he would have to wait and see, just like anyone else. He would have to think in the moment, exactly the way Luffy did, and it would be so unlike the way Katakuri had lived his life until now. He was someone who meticulously planned every movement, and Luffy was someone who planned absolutely nothingーthe two of them were different in so many ways, and similar in so many others. Katakuri looked forward to some day learning which was which.

He thought back to how protective the crew had been as soon as they realised that their captain was potentially under threat. They had clustered around him like a pack of wolves, possessive and snarling at the possibility of danger. Even the ones who had not seemed outwardly hostile still spoke with threats lacing their voices. Katakuri knew he was not even close to being as familiar with Luffy as his crew were, but he still understood the sentiments they carried. Anyone would want to protect a boy who was that special, it would be ridiculous not to. Katakuri was protective of his younger siblings in the same manner, but in this situation it meant so much more.

Luffy’s crew had no obligation to protect him. Yes, he was their captain, but people could leave crews, people could mutiny, people could be insubordinate, and there was no tie of blood between them. Katakuri’s family were his own flesh; he could never stop caring about them, but the Straw Hats held no such responsibility. They had simply chosen to treat Luffy as if he were their flesh and blood because that was the way he made them feel. It did not surprise Katakuri in the slightestーhe barely knew Luffy, and already felt close to him in a manner that was unnervingly intimate considering how little they had interacted. It made sense then that the crew, who had known Luffy for so long and whose lives had evidently been changed because of him, must have seen Luffy as their entire universe. He seemed to have his own gravitational pull, a star that enticed planet after planet into joining its inescapable orbit. Katakuri was certainly not the first to have been swept in, and he knew he would not be the last.

Maybe in the future he would get to hear about exactly how Luffy had done that, how he had come into the crew’s lives and flipped everything on its axis and left them knowing that Luffy was the person who they would give anything for. Katakuri had gathered snippets from when Luffy had been talking, but he wanted to hear it directly from the crew themselves. In hindsight, perhaps he should have left them with a better first impression. He hoped that he would be able to improve on that the next time that they met, and perhaps he could tell them his side of the story as well.

Katakuri was smiling. He did not know exactly when he had started smiling, but it must have been too long ago because the muscles in his face were beginning to ache. He opened his eyes, and the candle had melted to a third of its original height. He gazed at the fire as it sputtered and bounced, fighting against some unseen force but clinging on regardless. It was a tiny little thing, the flame, but insistent considering how much it had done already, and still showed no sign of giving up. Katakuri realised that he was still smiling. This was the effect that Luffy had, he realised. In the same way that the fight had left him buzzing, this had left him warm and pleased, even the thought of consequences had been pushed to the periphery and could be dealt with later. Clearly, Luffy’s laissez-faire attitude was getting to him too.

He laughed. He had never laughed for no reason, even hearing himself it sounded silly, but he laughed. He was alone on the ship, and no one would hear him, so he let himself laugh loudly until the bubble in his chest finally deflated. He thought back to the way Luffy laughed so often, so raucous and obnoxious, and he looked forward to hearing it again.

Katakuri liked Straw Hat Luffy an awful lot more than he should have, and he should not have liked him at all, but he did. He could not put a finger on exactly why but it also did not matter, for he simply did, and that was reason enough to want to see Luffy againーto listen to his rambling and to hear his stories and to make good on their promise of tea and, hopefully, to understand exactly why Luffy was who he was and how he did what he did. Perhaps Katakuri could pinpoint exactly how Luffy had done it to him, too.

Katakuri did not know when he would see Luffy again, nor what their situation would beーif they would be at each other’s throats or if they would be clasping hands, if they would be snarling or smiling at one anotherーbut he also knew that this did not matter. Whatever the circumstance, Katakuri was looking forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> (This fic was very loosely inspired by [this](https://twitter.com/wanoarc/status/1024756380404785152) wonderful fanart.)
> 
> This grew wildly out of control. My aim was 2.5-3k words, which became 3-4k, and eventually became this monstrosity. I didn't even address a lot of the things I wanted to, so I may end up writing a sequel (though that partly depends on what the reception to this is like.)
> 
> If you choose to read this as KataLu, I can't stop you, but my intention behind it was very much a platonic, friendly encounter and Katakuri coming to the realisation that he (along with Bartolomeo, Vivi, Dalton, the entire Kingdom of Dressrosa, and a million other people) is a part of the Luffy fanclub. Also, yes, I definitely bullshit Kata's mochi powers just because I did not want to deal with the absurd height difference but I figure, hell, if Luffy can use Gear 3rd/4th to make himself bigger, it should work the other way around too, right? 
> 
> Unsurprisingly, even in a fic that is predominantly about Luffy and Katakuri, I had to show just how much I love the Straw Hats and just how much they adore Luffy (and indicate my ZoLu bias.) Anyway, comments and constructive criticism very appreciated! Katakuri is best boy


End file.
